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February 28, 2012

Homemade naans were on my 'to-do' list for a long time now. I had bookmarked this recipe from Manjula's Kitchen and it was hiding somewhere in the long list. One day while we were planning what to make for dinner, my mother asked if I have made naans at home before. Thats when I remembered this easy recipe .The naans were so soft, much better than the ones served in most restaurants. In the original recipe, the naan is cooked in an oven, even I wanted to try it the same way. While the oven was pre-heating, I just tried making one naan on a tawa. I made 2 of them in the oven and rest on the tawa. I must say that we found the tawa ones were much easier, softer and tastier.

Note: I made butter naans and coriander jeera naans. To make coriander jeera naans, after rolling out the naan, top it with finely chopped coriander leaves and jeera and then cook.

Preparation:

1. Mix the yeast in luke warm water and keep aside for 10mins till it becomes frothy.
2. Add maida, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl and combine well.
3. Add oil and yoghurt to this mix and combine well to form a crumbly mix.
4. Add the yeast water and knead to form a very soft dough. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it for 2-3 hours till the dough almost doubles.
5. Knead the dough a little more and make 6 equal portions. Roll out each portion to thin oval shape. I rolled them on a plastic sheet to make it easier.
6. Heat a non stick pan / tawa and when it is really hot, transfer the naan. When it starts puffing up, flip over. Cook on both sides till brown.Brush a little butter on top.

This post is dedicated to my mom.. When she comes to stay with me, she takes over the kitchen and I get some rest. So, this time I wanted to make something special for her. This post goes to Nupur's lovely event 'For U, Mum'

Note: This recipe can be made with brinjal or tindora/kovakka instead of okra. Add the peanut spice powder after the veggie is cooked.

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the peanuts till the skin starts turning black here and there. Let it cool and then remove the skin and keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil and add jeera, urad dal and dry chillies. Roast till urad dal starts turning brown. Coarsely pound this along with peanuts using a spice grinder/mixer.
3. Remove the ends of the okra and cut into small pieces. Heat a tbsp of oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add okra pieces and fry well till the stickiness goes off. Add the peanut spice powder and enough salt and fry well for a few minutes.

February 23, 2012

Ivy gourd also known as Tindora/Kovakkai/Thondekkai is a veggie I didn't like much during my younger years. I havent tried any recipe other than this regular thoran/ stir fry or in sambar. This little veggie is rich in beta carotene and its juice is used in many herbal weight loss products. It is also known to regulate sugar metabolism and hence recommended for people with diabetes.

1. Wash the kovakka well and cut and remove the ends. Slice it thin and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add chana dal and fry till it turns brown.
3. Add sliced kovakka, shallots or onion, green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Combine well and heap everything towards the centre of the pan. Cover and cook. You may sprinkle a little water if required.
4. Mix the jeera with grated coconut well. Add it along with curry leaves and fry well till it thoran becomes dry.

February 19, 2012

My father cooks some of the best non-veg dishes and here is one such awesome recipe. I have been asking him to cooking this for me, but he kept postponing. Finally, he made it this weeked and it was simply delicious.The speciality is that this dish doesnot have much masalas in it, but it is still flavourful and yum.

1. Wash and clean the mutton and add all the marination ingredients in the bowl. Mix well and marinate for half an hour or more.
2. Cook the mutton till tender. I usually cook it in a pressure cooker without adding water. After the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 10-15 mins. Switch off and wait till pressure is released. Note that cooking time may vary depending on the tenderness of meat.
3. Grind together ginger, garlic and green chillies to a smooth paste and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the coconut cuts/thengakothu till brown. Drain and keep aside.
5. In the same oil, add cumin seeds followed by cinnamon and cardamom.
6. Add onions and saute till soft. Add coriander powder and saute till you get the aroma. Add the ginger-garlic-chilly paste and curry leaves and saute well.
7. Add tomatoes and saute till mushy. Now add the cooked mutton and the fried coconut cuts.
8. Combine well and simmer for 10-15 mins.
9. Do a taste check and add crushed pepper if required.
10. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

The curry tastes best after a few hours. Best served with rice/ghee rice/roti/appam/porotta/pathiri etc.

I have categorized the entries as below. Sorry, I couldnt include the pictures this time, as I am so busy with my office commitments this month. I had actually started the roundup draft with pics, but after a few hours I realized that it would take many more hours for me to complete it. So I had to drop the idea this time :-(

I loved hosting this event and this roundup page is now an index to lookup whenever I feel like having a dessert.

1. Soak the dried green peas overnight or for 8 hrs. Cook it along with the cubed potatoes. The peas should be cooked well, but not mushy. A pressure cooker can be used, but make sure you dont overcook the peas.
2. In a pan, heat oil and add the cumin seeds. Add onions and fry till it starts turning brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add chilly and corainder powders. Now add the chopped tomatoes. Saute till tomatoes turn mushy.Add the cooked peas and potatoes along with the water used for cooking.Add enough salt and combine well and add garam masala. Simmer for a few minutes.
3. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with roti/parotta/appam etc.

February 6, 2012

Palak Paneer is a creamy and delicious north indian dish with a lovely green colour. Paneer(cottage cheese) is cooked in a spinach based gravy and is mildly spiced. Taste great with roti, naan and paratha.

1. Cut the paneer to small cubes. If you are using store bought paneer, place the cubes in hot water for 5-10 mins and then drain. This helps to make the paneer soft. It is optional to fry the paneer in a little ghee for a few minutes.
2. Discard the stems of the palak and wash the leaves well. Roughly chop them. Heat about 2 tsp of oil in a pan. Add chopped spinach and sugar. Adding sugar helps to get a lovely dark green colour. Saute till spinach wilts and becomes dark green in colour. Let the spinach cool a little and grind it along with green chillies to a smooth puree.
3. Boil water in a pan and add the tomatoes and boil till the skin loosens. Place the tomatoes in cold water and remove the skin. Grind the tomatoes to a smooth pulp.

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Fry the onions till light brown and then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add coriander powder and combine well.
2. Add the tomato pulp, mix well and let it boil. Add the spinach puree and paneer cubes and combine well and bring to boil. Add garam masala and kasoori methi and cook for few more minutes. The gravy becomes thick. Add fresh cream and serve.

February 5, 2012

1. Add turmeric powder and salt to a bowl of water. Peel the plantain and slice it very thin with a slicer or knife and keep it in the turmeric-salt water for sometime.
2. Heat oil in wok and when it is real hot, add the sliced plantain. Stir once so that they dont stick to each other. Fry the chips on a high flame, till they are crisp and golden.
3. Drain to kitchen tissue. Let it cool and then store in airtight container.

1. Heat oil in a wok and add garlic. When you start getting the aroma, add chopped onions and veggies and fry it till veggies are cooked and crisp. Add spring onions and fry for a minute. Add the schezwan sauce and enough salt and combine well.
2. In another pan, scramble the eggs with a little salt. Add the scrambled eggs to the wok along with rice and toss well on high fire for a few minutes.

February 1, 2012

This is the 5th event in the ABC Series. I am overwhelmed by the 146 entries I have received for the DESSERTS event of Jan 2012. Thanks everyone for participating and make this an awesome event. Please allow a few days time for me to post the roundup.

Coming to the theme of this month - EGG recipes. Eggs are packed with a number of nutrients. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein, unsaturated fats and antioxidants. There are numerous ways to include eggs in our daily diet. So, lets be creative and find new ways to include egg in our meal.

Rules for the event:

1. Link any EGG recipe before 29-Feb-2012. Egg must be one of the main ingredient in the recipe. Eggs used just as an agent in baking do not qualify for the event. The recipes must be posted on your blog between Feb 1 - Feb 29, 2012.2. Please link back to this announcement page and use the logo above. The use of logo is mandatory as it helps spread the word about the event. To participate, all you need to do is tolink the recipe using the inlinkz tool. The link tool doesnt support images, so I would be doing a roundup in the first week of March.3. You may send any number of entries. The more, the merrier ! Archived entries are most welcome. Please re-post it with a link to this announcement page and use the logo.4. If you have any issues in linking, please post a comment or send a mail to events.ramyasrecipe@gmail.com. Non-bloggers can send the recipes to this email id.